Former Intifada NYC Principal: I'm the Victim

We figured she wouldn't go quietly.

Principal of Arabic School Says She Was Forced Out

Debbie Almontaser, who resigned under fire from her position as principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy, the city’s Arabic-themed school, spoke out publicly for the first time today since her case attracted headlines and protests from opposing sides. Ms. Almontaser, a Yemeni-American with an extensive record of educational and community work in Brooklyn, stepped down on Aug. 10 amid a controversy that erupted after she was quoted defending the use of the word “intifada” as a T-shirt slogan.

Ms. Almontaser released a prepared statement through her lawyer and later read the statement from the steps of City Hall in a news conference that started soon after 5 p.m. In the statement, she said that she was forced to participate in an interview with The New York Post, that the newspaper misrepresented her views and that city officials then threatened to shut down the academy if she did not resign.

Cry me a river.

She also blames Stop the Madrassa and Daniel Pipes.

Leading the attack was the “Stop the Madrassa Coalition” run by Daniel Pipes, who has made his career fostering hatred of Arabs and Muslims. The coalition conducted a smear campaign against me and the school that was ferocious. Members of the coalition stalked me wherever I went and verbally assaulted me with vicious anti-Arab and anti-Muslim comments. They suggested that, as an observant Muslim, I was disqualified from leading KGIA, even though the school is rigorously secular, and its namesake, Khalil Gibran, was a Lebanese Christian. To stir up anti-Arab prejudice, they constantly referred to me by my Arabic name, a name that I do not use professionally. They even created and circulated a YouTube clip depicting me as a radical Islamist.

Then the evil bloggers took over and she was history.

Previous items on Almontaser here.

H/T Hot Air.

Intifada NYC T-Shirts a Hot Item

I figured this would happen when news first broke about these t-shirts, as there are enough Islamist sympathizers, Jew-haters and leftwing nuts that would be proud to wear something so offensive.

Proving again that even bad publicity can be good for business, the group that created "Intifada NYC" T-shirts is being swamped with requests for its controversial fashion statement.

The shirts, produced by Arab Women Active in Arts & Media, made headlines after Debbie Almontaser, the first principal of a controversial Arabic-themed city school, defended them.

The furor led to her resignation as principal of Khalil Gibran International Academy on Aug. 10.

"Good question. No comment," was all Erica Waples, an organizer with AWAAM, had to say when asked about the surge of support for her insurgent-themed line of clothes.

AWAAM's Web site has received messages of encouragement and order requests for the pink-hued shirts that the group says advocates empowerment for Arab women.

"I am so sorry for all that your organization has been going through, I would very much like one of the intifadah NYC shirts," one fan wrote.

Then there's the Jewish conspiracy crackpots. It's all their fault.

Another posted: "Expose the ignorance. Expose the Zionist angle."

Others are also looking to cash in. Can't wait for the legal action over trademark infringment.

"I designed this shirt primarily in defense of free speech and expression," said Randall Hayes, of Louisiana, referring to tees he has begun marketing with the same slogan.

And Berkeley, Calif., activist Yaman Salahi is selling "Intifada USA" shirts "inspired by [the] xenophobic and presumptuous reaction of papers like yours to the Arabic school," he told The Post.

Paltry Few Rally in Support of Almontaser

A motley crew of miscreants and Islamist supporters gathered in lower Manhattan last night to whine, moan and seethe over the dismissal of former Arab School principal Debbie Almontaser, and predictably, they kvetched about racism, McCarthyism and Islamophobia. I wasn't even there and I could probably recite half their material since we never hear the end of it from these sniveling malcontents.

ARAB SCHOOL'S SUPPORTERS BOOST RESIGNED PRINCIPAL

Dozens of supporters of the controversial Arabic-themed public school slated to open in Brooklyn next month rallied last night to support its recently resigned principal.

Organizers of the protest at Department of Education headquarters in lower Manhattan included members of the group that sells the "Intifada NYC" T-shirts that were initially defended by Khalil Gibran International Academy's former principal, Debbie Almontaser.

The flap over the shirts caused Almontaser - a devout Muslim and fluent Arabic speaker - to resign under fire.

"I thought this was not just an attack on her as an Arab, as a Muslim, but this was an attack on our community as a whole," said Sara Said Alkhulaidi, 21, whose brother will attend the school.

Deborah Howard, whose daughter attended a school where Almontaser once taught, said, "Anyone who says that Debbie is anything other than a woman of peace has never met Debbie."

Mona Eldahry, of Arab Women Active in Art and Media, which sold the shirts, said, "We look forward to the day when our public officials condemn the racism that has created this situation, rather than affirming it."

Rabbi Michael Feinberg, who supports the school, said the campaign against it is "the lowest of McCarthyite tactics."

Weak

When in doubt, dredge up Joe McCarthy. C'mon, dude, freshen up the material. That was over 50 years ago. I thought you people always were so progressive and wanted to MoveOn?

So apparently now, pointing out the outrageous "Intifada NYC" t-shirts is racist?

Please.

That's another canard which long ago outlived any usefulness.

The always intrepid Urban Infidel was on hand to witness this ragtag bunch of malcontents and has a photo essay:

Pro-Madrassa Rally for Khalil Gibran School .

Almontaser Still on NYC DOE Payroll

While former Khalil Gibran International Academy principal Debbie Almontaser resigned Friday, it's disturbing to see she's still on the payroll of the Department of Education. Of course, city officials are probably worried that the stormtroopers from CAIR would probably file some nuisance lawsuits.

Compounding the problem is the feckless Mayor Michael Bloomberg making nice-nice with this woman, who shouldn't be anywhere near a school.

INTIF-ADIOS TO SCHOOL CHIEF

The principal of a controversial city-funded Arab-themed school abruptly resigned yesterday after she ignited a firestorm by saying there was nothing wrong with T-shirts that said "Intifada NYC."

Pressure for Debbie Almontaser's ouster had mounted all week since her tortured explanation that "intifada" was a message of empowerment. The inflammatory statement was about Arab women in New York City "shaking off oppression" and not supporting the Palestinian uprising that killed thousands, she said.

Those remarks, first reported in The Post on Monday, focused renewed attention on her mission to create a dual-language Arabic school for grades 6 through 12. Critics say Khalil Gibran International Academy, which would be located in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, will isolate Muslim students.

"I think she felt that she has become the focus of, rather than having the school focus, and so today she submitted her resignation, which is nice of her to do and I appreciate her service," Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday on his radio show.

Almontaser will remain on the Department of Education payroll and be reassigned to a position not connected with the academy.

"I became convinced yesterday that this week's headlines were endangering the viability of Khalil Gibran International Academy, even though I apologized," Almontaser said in a statement. "I will not allow the recent outcry to undermine these possibilities for the children of our city."

She was to make $120,197 as principal.

The Department of Education said it remains committed to opening the school, and is searching for a new principal.

Numerous elected officials, citizens and advocacy groups said Almontaser's comments, made in a city already in the cross hairs of Islamic terrorists, raised doubts that she could handle the sensitivity of managing an Arab-themed school.

Maybe if she lit up a cigarette or served some food with trans-fats, then Bloomberg would spring into action.

Despite Almontaser's years of experience working in media and as a spokeswoman for the Arab community, Bloomberg said she simply misspoke about the tees.

"She's certainly not a terrorist. She really does care . . . She's not all that media savvy, maybe, and she tried to explain a word rather than just condemn," he said.

Yes, he's presidential material. He'd fit right in with the painfully pandering Democrats any day of the week.

Meanwhile, the Post editorial smacks School's Chancellor Joel Klein upside the head.

JIHAD'YA LATER

First the good news: Dhabah "Debbie" Almontaser yesterday quit as principal-designate of the city's new Arabic-themed public school - though not without blaming her resignation mostly on The Post (not by name, of course).

But here's the bad news: The Department of Education says it still plans to open the Khalil Gibran International Academy. And Almontaser herself will remain on the DOE payroll in an undetermined role.

After she defended the sale of T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan "Intifada NYC," and then issued a quasi-apology that only made things worse, it was inevitable that Almontaser would have to step down as head of the Arabic academy she'd first proposed.

Her words had brought a sharp rebuke from, among others, teachers-union head Randi Weingarten (until then a strong supporter of the Gibran school), who said, "Parents and teachers have a right to be concerned" about a school run by someone who didn't seem to understand the difference between "peace and war-mongering."

Chancellor Joel Klein's office refuses to release Almontaser's resignation letter. (Why not? Did she write something that would embarrass the department even further?)

But it did issue a statement attributed to Almontaser in which she complained, "This week's headlines were endangering the viability of Khalil Gibran International Academy, even though I apologized."

That is, she's blaming the media - in this case, Post reporters Chuck Bennett and Jana Winter and this page - for reporting and commenting on her foolishness.

I doubt this is the last we'll hear from Almontaser, and if she continues down this radical path, the city will have some explaining to do as to why she's still on the payroll.

Elsewhere, the New York Sun reports there are increased calls for this school to be shut down entirely, which I wholeheartedly concur with.

"I hope that this is the beginning of the end for this entire project," a Democrat who represents Boro Park in New York's state Assembly, Dov Hikind, told The New York Sun Friday. "If this woman, who I hear is a nice woman, if she couldn't get this right, then I think the whole concept just doesn't work."

The Department of Education had backed Ms. Almontaser after her statements about the "Intifada" T-shirts, saying it accepted her quick apology, in which she said she regretted "minimizing the word's historical associations." But after the president of the teachers union, Randi Weingarten, issued a condemnation of Ms. Almontaser, the schools chancellor, Joel Klein, said he admired her decision to resign, saying the "controversy about her remarks threatened to destabilize the school."

Must everyone qualify their remarks by noting "how nice" Almontaser is? This pandering political correctness is simply nauseating.

Previously: "Intifada NYC Principal Resigns.

UPDATE: Reader NY Nana notes the NY Times has finally discovered the story after ignoring it all week.

Head of City’s Arabic School Steps Down Under Pressure.

So nice for the "paper of record" to catch up with the New York Post, New York Sun and the blogs after six days.

"Intifada NYC" Principal Resigns

Just breaking, via Hot Air.

I never thought anyone would have the guts to call for her resignation, but I guess once Randi Weingarten came down hard on her the other day, the writing was on the wall.

Now all they need to do is scuttle this school entirely.

Previously: Union Boss Slams "Intifada NYC" Principal

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin has more and Fox has a report. More also from Atlas Shrugs.

Union Boss Slams "Intifada NYC" Principal

We have a bona fide flying pig moment here. Someone I've always found utterly detestable, NYC teacher's union boss Rondi Weingarten, has come out firing against "Intifada NYC" principal Debbie Almontaser.


RANDI RIPS 'INTIFADA' PRINCIPAL

Teachers-union boss Randi Weingarten slammed the principal of a new Arab-themed school in Brooklyn yesterday for not immediately condemning T-shirts linked to her that sport the inflammatory message "Intifada NYC."

In a conversation yesterday with The Post - and in a letter to the editor - the United Federation of Teachers president said her support for the Khalil Gibran International Academy was shaken this week by Principal Debbie Almontaser's dismissal of concerns that the shirts were an incendiary call to violence.

Almontaser backtracked the next day, but the damage was done, said Weingarten.

"I'm very concerned about it, and it's not often that I write as blistering a letter as I wrote, but it's not OK to explain away 'intifada,' " she said. "Maybe this was just a real error in judgment for which she has now apologized, or maybe, ultimately, she should not be a principal.

"She now has a much higher standard that she has to prove, that this is not the way she's going to run that school."

In typical pandering PC, Weingarten blindly supported this academic farce, but certainly now has doubts, likely due to the public outrage.

But that support took a significant hit when Almontaser defended the shirts, first reported Monday by The Post, by defining "intifada" as a "shaking off" of oppression rather than acknowledging its widespread association with the call to violence among some Palestinians against Israelis.

"I'm glad she apologized quickly, but this is the kind of thing that you immediately say, 'No. People shouldn't have T-shirts like that. That's warmongering. That's preaching,' " said Weingarten.

"That's something that ought to be denounced, not be explained away."

While Weingarten stopped short of calling for Almontaser's dismissal, she appealed for "extraordinary oversight" of the school and its principal.

We'll see about that.

Previously: Arab School All About "Peace"